


A Discount Tank for a Killer Shark

by friends_call_me_wobbly_hands



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: All in Good Humor, Angry Fish, Angst, Awkwardness, F/F, Feels, Fighting, First Time, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbian Sex, Lizard Fucks Up Big Time, Music, NOT CANON TO THE 11 days if anyone is interested, Slavery, Suffering fish, Suffering lizard, Underfell, Unethical Experimentation, Violence, and by do the do i mean build healthy relationships andlove each other and themselves, and other fun activities to do with your slave/spouse, and really shitty, anyway, because i am terrible at smut and they have zero experience anyway, bi scientists, but like really far away, embarrasment, gay fishes, in absolutely everything, like in caps, lots of awkward tinkering with each other, so nothing too graphic, someone teach them how to do the do, there will be no non-con there tho, though less of a fandom one and more of my take on it, throw em all in here, well. most of it in good humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-01-04 19:17:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12175023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/friends_call_me_wobbly_hands/pseuds/friends_call_me_wobbly_hands
Summary: When one day Alphys, the youngest Royal Scientist to ever come, decides to buy a slave, she doesn't think about the consequences much. Even though maybe she should. She definitely should. Later on she looks back to that moment again and again and again and wonders what she could have done differently. And if she would do anything differently at all.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is not going to be about an evil scientist torturing her poor slave, okay? I promise it will not. I really had to get that idea out of my head, so. Welp.

“So, what do you think?”

“Huh?”

“Do not _huh_ me. I saw the way you – yeah, you are staring. You are _definitely_ staring.” Craig grinned, as if he had found the answer to the biggest secret of life and the answer wasn’t overly family-friendly.

Alphys averted her eyes hastily. There were many soon-to-be slaves in the line, She could as well look at someone else. Someone to the left, maybe. Why not.

“I am only trying to judge them”, she said in a plain voice, keeping her eyes off the blue scales. “There are so many of them; and I am not contented with average.”

“Going all official with me, ha!” Craig attempted a small, crooked pat to her back. They were childhood friends, she and Craig, and that meant they were slightly less likely to bite into each other’s throats. This was a level of trust rare to the Kingdom. Also, unfortunately, it meant that they knew more about each other than they intended. “Relax, girl. I see that one tough love really catches your eye. Come on, she don’t bite – nor do I, of course!”

Alphys gulped and finally looked up at one of the monsters in line – the one she had tried so desperately to look past.

There were many people there, indeed; the poor souls that had too many debts and too few people who would give half a care about them. Most were clothed in cheap-looking basic clothes, but, like with any sample mean, there were also the critical points of two confused monsters in furs and jewels counterbalanced by one very nonchalant dude in a shower-curtain wrapped frivolously around his thighs. Some were crying and pleading, some were staring at the ground in numb defiance, some tried to seduce the passers-by in hopes of a wealthier master, but on the whole the crowd of monsters on sale was quiet and orderly.

 _She_ was not an exception.

She stayed still, sometimes changing the feet and keeping her hands behind her. Her red hair was slick and greasy, falling down to her shoulders in sickly dirty waves. She was _all_ sickly and dirty, to be honest: dim scales, sticky fins, nails bitten short, slouched shoulders and slimy sweat. Alphys wasn’t really going to look at her twice, aside from, maybe, to check her muscles. For, um, strictly scientific purposes.

But the slave suddenly caught her staring, and the yellow restless eyes met with her own milky ones.

And there was something there, for a blink; Alphys could _swear_ there was. Like a glimpse, a light spot on a thing you cannot recognize, a thing that surfaced momentarily in the mud and sunk down immediately before you could even know it was there. But it was there. Alphys knew. She saw it in the stare of the slave’s eyes, even though they were clouded by confusion, exhaustion and surrender.

And once she saw it, she couldn’t help staring and searching for it again and again and again. Even when the girl looked another way, even when Craig called her out. Alphys could not help asking herself what was that, what she saw.

And she could not leave it at that. She could not say no, now, mesmerized by the dim yellow glow.

“I – I think, I will take this one”, she said, rubbing her forehead.

“Really? Maybe you should think twice”, Craig said uneasily. “Look, Al – she put up a great fight when we took her. She is all tamed now, but… And watch out for that slime on her! You’ll need a week to wash it off, and even then she will reek of rotten fish.”

“I can afford a cleaner”, Alphys said absentmindedly. “And besides, I do not care how they smell strapped to the table in the other room.”

Craig was her childhood friend, so he laughed like there was no tomorrow. There always had been rumors about the scientists, how they tortured monsters in their dark labs. Only the closest friends could know otherwise. Sometimes it was necessary to have people fear you.

“Alright, girl”, he said, patting her on the back again and winking obnoxiously. “Gonna go wrap her, for you. Put a bow on her and on the like. Hey, fishie – guess who has been sold just now!”

The blue monster shivered, lifting her eyes.

“Say hello to your new master, girl!” Craig said, not without some good humor. He tried to pat the slave on her back as well, but looked twice and hid his hand behind his back, squinting. “Erm – be good, there.”

Alphys caught her stare once again, and once again something shined in it for a fleeting moment. Then the slave blinked and quickly went to watching her feet as she was led out of the line.

Alphys wondered if she was terribly lucky or making her biggest mistake ever.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bath times.

Of course bath came first.

Yellow claws clattered on the tiles back and forth, and restless little echoes scattered around, trapped in the web of corridors. Alphys did not have any servants since that one boy who decided that burgling a Royal Scientist would be a terrific idea. Well, it had taught everyone a valuable lesson about sharing and caring and not messing with the scientists, especially if said scientists have friends whose names start with “Killer Robot”, and she got her stuff back and Mettaton got a scenario for an unexpected spin-off, so everyone was happy in the end. As for the unlucky boy, well, the funeral had been held a couple of months ago, so there was nothing to worry about, really.

But that meant, unfortunately, that Alphys had to do everything on her own. And right now she had to find towels he wouldn’t miss, soap with a smell that would hopefully drown out that horrible reek, some spare clothes that would fit on someone twice as tall – and twice as thin, and also a sponge, a brush, a pair of scissors, a pair of protective gloves (because like hell she was going to touch _this_ with her bare hands), an apron, an answer to the question if it was even worth the effort, and eventually the courage, because in the last possible moment she realized that she didn’t trust her new purchase enough to leave her alone in a room with all those chemicals, and thus she had to wash her herself, and that meant she was going to see a naked body very, very soon.

Oh my god, Alphys thought, slowly turning red then white then red again. Oh. My. God. Oh no, oh no no no. Oh yes. Oh no. _Why_.

Yellow claws pattered restlessly back and forth, like somebody had dropped a bag of marbles. The slave watched the rush in confusion. Her head turned slowly right and left, following the movements of her new master. Her fins twitched when Alphys stomped especially hard, and she sometimes fidgeted, probably being a bit self-conscious about the surfaces she was touching and inevitably making dirty. Alphys felt her stare resting on the her back.  

“Uh. So”, she said, uncertainly, because the silence was getting too uncomfortable. The slave bobbed her head, blinking. “What’s… um… your name?”

The fish monster didn’t respond at once, and there was a pause so long that Alphys decided she’s got herself a deaf slave, and while that was not so bad in itself it certainly meant much more hustle –

“…Moray”, the obviously-not-deaf girl muttered finally. “They… called me Moray.”

Alphys nodded, her mind momentarily disturbed by the wording but letting go of it immediately. She glanced back at the huddled dirty figure in the corner. The girl didn’t resemble a deadly moray eel at all. But, well, maybe whoever had named her had fallen victim to wishful thinking.

“Moray, hm… My name is Alphys”, she said, busying herself with tugging a spare towel from a cardboard. “I d-don’t care if you call me just b-by the name”.

“How else?-” Moray started, only to bite on her tongue quickly. The lizard gave her an annoyed glance. “…right. Master. They told me that”.

“I’m glad they did”, Alphys said, sighing. Moray certainly wasn’t too well-mannered… She was starting to have doubts about this. But, well, slave markets never gave you refunds. “Alright. I g-guess that is about all we need. Come”.

Moray pulled herself up and followed her, a bit unsteady on her feet. She crossed her arms, and her nails dug into her scaled skin, but her face remained the same sleepy, emotionless mask.

Her eyes widened momentarily, shifting, but Alphys didn’t see.

 

***

 

Alphys admitted to herself that _this_ naked body in particular wasn’t worth the fuss.

Moray was shoved into the bathtub and scrubbed rigorously all over. The lizard had to empty and refill the tub four times before the water running from the girl’s scales turned at least a slighter hue of grey. Beneath the clothes and dirt, the slave was dangerously thin, with pale dim scales and bones on full display under thin skin. No curves, no beauty, just malnourishment and blue veins and misery.

Alphys sighed, putting the sponge away. At least the smell was mostly gone.

“I’m going to go fetch you a robe”, she mumbled, standing up. Moray looked up at her, not bothering to lift her wet hair off her face. “Behave”.

“I will”, Moray said, and Alphys left.

She took her time while she looked through her bathrobes, touching the soft fabric and dropping it back and picking another one. No, she had certainly made a grave mistake. She should have listened. She should have thought twice. Why had she thought that getting what was basically a sentient pet was a good idea? And what if Moray was aggressive? What if she was a moral vegetable, broken by the traders enough to be just a weak, obedient lap dog?

What if Alphys had bought another living being for her sick enjoyment and there wasn’t even anything to enjoy about it?

Alphys sighed, dragging a claw across a piece of red lace. Well. She’d done something, and now the only thing she could do was to deal with the consequences…

Red lace. Hm.

A flap of hands, and the delicate, soft robe swirled before Alphys’ gaze like a current of wine tinted water. The lizard hummed and recalled the hue of Moray’s skin. Probably red would suit her well. Even if the girl would be of little use, at least she could stand to become more aesthetically pleasing.

She hurried back with the robe in her hands. The red streams of cloth flowed over her hands, dancing and rippling.

“Moray? I am back”-

The bathroom was empty.

Alphys stuttered, her legs failing for a second, her heart sinking quickly like a locked car in a lake – then rushed towards the bathtub as if hoping to find Moray there.

Moray was there.

Alphys stumbled and went still.

Moray lay in the water, on her back and stretched and with her eyes closed. Water washed over her figure, and a stream of bubbles rose from her half-opened mouth – from thin lips a hue darker, warmer than the skin around them; there was not a frown, not a wrinkle on Moray’s peaceful face. Her cerulean scales glistened in the water; not in the pompous, selfish way diamonds sparkle, much dimmer than that, but also somehow better – _livelier_? Her hair soared around her head in lazy red whirls like the softest sea grass…

And on her neck, elbows, knees, on her bony hips and around her wrists – countless gentle crimson fins shivered and _breathed_.

Alphys gawked, unable to tear her eyes away. The creature before her glimmered and shone and was completely still but moved constantly anyway, like the water itself, and everything about it was life. It was brought back to its element, even if temporarily. And it now looked like it would be a crime to separate the two.

The lizard couldn’t hold in a shivery nervous noise.

Moray’s eyes flew open, and – and Alphys drew in a breath and jerked back, flinching when her back hit the cold wall. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears.

Moray pulled herself up, water rushing down her neck and shoulders. Alphys pressed herself to the cold tiles, stunned. Whatever she saw in those yellow unblinking eyes…

was gone. The girl lifted a stray strand of hair from her face, turning to the lizard. Her eyes were dim again. Sheepish. She pointed with her chin at the robe, looking another way, and sank lower in the water, as if reluctant to leave it yet.

“…is this for me?”

The scientist breathed – in, out. Slowly pulled herself away from the wall. Put down the now crumpled exquisite robe.

“…Yes. It is. Now let’s get you dried up and clothed.”

 

***

 

At least Moray _did_ look nice in that robe.

Alphys made them both some noodles and concocted a bed for the slave (getting distracted now and then by Moray’s bare legs as she sat hunched up over her dinner). The girl started nodding off quickly after eating and in mere minutes she was already curled up in her makeshift bed, snoring in a very unladylike way. Alphys caught herself watching her with some kind of almost parental care and shut it off, stomping away in mock disgust.

And yet…

She busied herself with the papers – someone had to do the paperwork, after all, and there was no one else but her so – and maybe the King would consider her as his new Royal Scientist, but this was a prospect, only a prospect –

and yet, yet…

Alphys wondered if she had made a mistake.

Little she knew that this was only the first one.


End file.
